Yorio, K. (2018). Success of student-curated collection. School
Library Journal, 64(3), 15.
This brief School Library Journal article is about student
choice when curating a high school library's collection. Laura Fleming of New
Milford high school in New Jersey used a radical new method to adding books to
the collection: she had the student choose. When Laura first started, the
collection had been out of date, hardly weeded, and not interesting to the
students. She cleared out almost all of the books. Then using the standard book
ordering process, she ordered books she thought the students would like. To her
disappointment, they just sat of the shelf. When it was time to add more books
to the collection, Laura and the director of curriculum instruction went to
Barnes and Noble. They left empty-handed. Instead, Laura thought, why not bring
the students to the bookstore to choose for themselves? 20 students of
different reading levels, as well as some reluctant readers and non-readers,
were chosen to select books that interested them as well as books they thought
would interest others. They had a $6,000 budget and paperback was encouraged due
to its short shelf life. The students requested that the books be organized by
genre and face outward on display. The result? It has been a success. Books fly
off the shelves in this library now. This student curated collection helped
increase circulation and revive the library.
Opinion: As a school librarian, I feel that decisions about what
materials to purchase should fill a community need and/or a curriculum need.
These high school students were given complete control over their collection
and I feel that fulfills a community need. Teens have specific interests and
opinions on what they want to read. Allowing them to have a say in their
library collection was probably an empowering experience for them.
Additionally, having new, high interest books in the library probably means
that reluctant readers or non-reader would be more apt to pick up a book and
start reading. In my experience with elementary school students, I ask them to
participate in curating the collection but in a very different manner. I have a
“Suggestion Box” where they can add any titles, authors, or series they would
like to see in the library. It’s not the same as driving to Barnes and Noble,
but it does give them some ownership in the process.
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